Hey, I'm sure this question has been asked 100 times over, but I'm considering an intake. Just bought an 04 tl because my son had one and was really impressed. Short ram air or cai? Or is the stock system adequate enough to support an aftermarket filter to help create a bit of a different engine note?

 

is that all you're wanting is a different engine note?

the stock cold air intake system is adequate enough to where you dont need to mess with it, in terms of performance.
if you just want noise; perhaps you could just remove the resonator.
a hot air ram intake otherwise known as short ram will do no good.
it is your car and $, so you can throw my suggestions out of the water if you would like

 

yes I think I'm looking for a little different engine note. If a cai doesnt do anything to add horsepower or performance I'm not interested in throwing away money for something that looks shiny/ricey

 

I removed the resonator in the intake system to get me a little more throaty intake noise when smashing the throttle.

 

ok, did you change your air filter too? I mean go to a performance drop in filter or stay with an oem when you removed the resonator?

 

stayed with stock air filter.

Because the stock air filter out flows the throttle body. meaning the throttle body is the restriction.

 

Performance air filters are kind of a contradiction in terms, basically the higher the airflow performance, the lower the filtration performance. Said another way, filters like K&N allow a HUGE amount of dirt into the engine which would otherwise have been trapped in an OEM style filter.

 

That makes sense! So the same can be said for all performance filters then? KN for sure, and the other cai filters too?

 

Just wanted to add in case it wasn't addressed yet, that CAI's don't really add that much extra HP if any. Plenty of videos on Youtube of before and after dynos showing an increase of like 3 or 4 HP instead of what some merchants claim "Adds up to 19 extra horsepower!" I guess it's possible to get something higher, but highly improbable. In fact some aftermarket intakes can even reduce your HP!

They sound good though!

 

Not saying they are all crap when it comes to filtration, but by the same token, I can honestly say I've never seen one which even remotely approached the filtration capabilities of an OEM style filter, much less equaled it.

 

Quite right.
Furthermore, cars with hotwire MAF sensors usually get screwed by oiled filters like K&N, as the oil burns onto the sensor and throws it's readings off.

 

Yes, changing to a CAI will give you louder engine noise. It will not give you 10-15% more horsepower or better MPG, otherwise every manufacturer would be adding these to their cars for an easy and quick modification, but it isn’t happening. The reason why; it doesn’t work.

On the other hand, if all you want is the SOUND of a fast car; there is a device called a Soundracer. Why stop with a TLX with a V6 or 4 cylinder sound? Why not a TLX with a V8, V10, or even a “ground pounding” V12 engine? You can purchase this device that plugs into your cigarette lighter and by tuning the radio to the correct FM frequency, it will mimic your vehicles RPM and shift points and make you think you are in a 700 horsepower throaty TLX. Turn the volume on your radio up as loud as you want and you won’t bother your neighbors. You can see a great demo on this $50 product at:

www.youtube.com/watch?v=g6WOd07MQ4E&feature=youtu.be&fbclid=IwAR2Z xUL12Rpr1I7rZc3_c4l6kA93HL-fQNr4XJoOsUls1SWLf4QKsyAmNhM

Soundracer is much cheaper than a CAI or modifying the exhaust and will give you much more and better sound. If you did add a CAI and Cat back exhaust or resonator removal at a cost of mucho dollars, what happens when you get tired or it? Or want to trade in the car? Or you want to change it back? Or you wife wants to start driving the car? Or your neighbors complain about the noise? Or your lease is up?

No problem if you have the Soundracer, just unplug it from the cigarette lighter and move it over to your next car.

 

Ok, so far removing the resonator looks to be the most effective way to change the engine note without wasting money on a cai or Sri.